The Hidden Social Costs of Precarious Employment: Marriage Formation Among Young Adults During a Period of Rising Precarity.

The transition to adulthood has become increasingly prolonged since the late 1970s. Despite widespread public and scientific concern, the exact mechanisms that delay the transition to adulthood are largely unknown. This paper argues that part of the answer lies in examining another key contemporary trend: the rise of precarious employment since the 1970s and the attendant increase in uncertainty and risk for workers. I examine the effects of precarious employment (i.e. jobs with a nonstandard employment relationship, short tenure, and/or lack of benefits) on first marriage, one traditional marker of adulthood. Using data from the NLSY97, I find that the odds of having a first marriage are reduced for women (but not men) that have a nonstandard job or a job with short tenure. Further, having a job that lacks health insurance and retirement benefits reduces the odds of first marriage for both men and women. More work on disentangling the causal effects and mechanisms of precarious employment are necessary as this phenomenon continues to grow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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